Without Wings
by Kristinexists
Summary: In which the guardian angel of the Capital Wasteland needs a guardian angel, himself. Butch/M!LW
1. Chapter 1

Ever since they were small, the relationship between Butch DeLoria and Liam Brickly had been a complicated one. Often times, when they were very young children, Liam's father, James Brickly, would be put in charge of what could really only be called a free daycare service for the vault, as a show of good faith.

At age five, the favorite game of the children of vault 101 had been dubbed "Princess Rescue". Butch absolutely despised Princess Rescue. It was stupid, unfair, and Amata Almodovar always got to play the hero. And because Liam was Amata's best friend, she refused to have him pit against her. And so, Liam was always stuck being the trapped princess; or "prince" as he had insisted on being called.

Butch and Wally Mack, on the other hand, were always cast as the bad guys. Butch normally taking on the role of the giant, evil, but apparently oh-so-beatable dragon whose job it was to guard Liam in his "tower" which was actually just a kitchen chair, and Wally got to be his evil wizard owner. It just wasn't fair. Not only did Butch always get stuck as a bad guy who could never win, but Wally got to tell him what to do, too.

Liam didn't seem to appreciate the game nearly as much as Amata or Wally did, either. The young, clumsy, ginger boy was reduced to a prop, sitting in the corner, cheering for his "savior" while she battled with a cardboard gift-wrap tube. At the end of the game, it was always the same, too. Liam would be forced to plant a great big "hero" kiss on Amata's cheek, then get onto her "steed", which was invisible, and ride off into the sunset.

It was the kiss that put Butch in the worst mood of all. The little five-year-old was furious with jealousy whenever it happened. Liam never kissed him, after all. So why did he have to kiss Amata? Why did he have to cheer for her? Maybe the prince and the dragon were in love, and the stupid hero princess was ruining everything? Stupid Amata. Stupid girls. Butch never voiced these thoughts of course. He didn't want anyone to think that he thought Liam was cute or anything.

Butch definitely thought that Liam was cute. He was timid and kind of a pushover, but he was also fairly tiny, with the most adorable crop of orange hair, and huge blue eyes. He was also always really nice, sharing his snacks and always helping his dad, who, on top of watching them every Tuesday and Thursday, was also the vault doctor, patch up the minor scrapes and cuts the other kids ended up with from time to time. The kid was a saint, and he was annoying, but he was also adorable, and Butch wanted that kiss.

Determined to get his way, Butch decided to put a very simple plan into action: He wouldn't allow Amata to win anymore. He wouldn't just roar at her, or pretend to scratch at her. He'd punch her, if he had to, for real. He would fight valiantly to protect his prince from her, and in return, he'd earn what was rightfully his.

In retrospective, it was an absolutely terrible plan. But Butch was five and had a crush, and he was going to get that kiss, dammit!

When Ellen DeLoria first brought her son into the small two-room apartment, the first thing he did was scramble into Liam's bedroom. He was excited to find that none of the other children had arrived yet, and it was just the two of them. He found the little redhead playing with a Nuka-Cola toy truck on the floor.

"Hi!" greeted Liam, energetically, looking up at his friend.

"Yo!" Butch made his way beside Liam, sitting next to him on the ground, laying his head affectionately on his shoulder.

"Butch!" giggled Liam, wrapping his teeny little arms around the other boy, hugging him tightly. Butch tried to wiggle out of Liam's grip, as he quickly became embarrassed by the situation. He couldn't help but really enjoy the attention, though.

"Wanna race?" Liam asked, after he had released his friend, pulling out a little blue toy car and handing it to Butch.

"Heck yeah!" grinned Butch, accepting the toy.

The next ten minutes consisted of the two boys pushing their toy vehicles along until one crashed into the opposite wall before the other. It was a wonderful ten minutes, which was cut short when other children began to enter the room. It was Susie Mack, followed by her brother, Wally. Despite his desire to, Butch couldn't just ignore Wally. He was his best friend, after all. The same could not be said for Susie, however.

Susie Mack was really mean to all of the boys her age, though her dislike of Liam was obviously strongest, and unless both Amata and her friend Christine were playing, and Liam was not, she would adamantly refuse to join Princess Rescue. Amata, however, refused to leave her best friend out. And so, Susie rarely played with them.

"Gross," snarled Susie, shaking her little strawberry-blond head, as she glared at Butch and Liam on the floor.

"You're gross!" snapped Butch, sticking his tongue out at her, "And smelly, too!"

"I am not!" Susie stomped her foot, angrily.

Butch crinkled his nose in disdain, "You are, too! You're a gross, smelly, ugly girl, and nobody likes you!"

"Stop it!" It was Amata, who had entered the room, "Butch! That's not very nice!"

"I don't care!" insisted Butch, standing up.

Liam looked around nervously at the group. He hated it whenever they shouted at each other. It usually meant his dad would come in and scold them, and that he would get a personal talking to later that night, whether he'd been part of the arguing or not.

"Children?" It was James, right on queue. "I thought I heard shouting. Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, Doctor Brickly," said Butch, putting on his most innocent face.

"Butch was calling me names!" huffed Susie.

"Yeah, and now we can add tattletale onto the list, too," remarked Butch, quietly.

"Butch," came James's voice, sternly, as he crouched down to Butch's level, "Are we going to have a problem here?"

"No," said Butch, obviously irritated by the treatment he was getting. Technically Susie had started the whole thing, anyway. It wasn't his fault that she was such a bitch.

"Then I want you to apologize to Susie. And behave, please?" asked James, standing up straight and folding his arms across his chest. Much to Butch's annoyance, the doctor stood there, waiting for Butch to give a proper apology in his presence.

He sighed heavily, before turning to Susie, "Fine. I'm sorry for calling you gross."

"Good," James said, seeming satisfied, although still unhappy, "Now, I have some paperwork that I need to finish up. But I'll be right in the next room if anyone needs me. Please try and stay safe, alright?" And with that, Liam's father left the room just as quickly as he had entered.

Angrily, Butch plopped himself once again on the floor beside Liam. "Your dad is such a buzzkill," Butch groaned.

"Oh," came Liam's quiet, saddened reply, "I'm sorry. I wish he hadn't yelled at you." He looked down at the ground, quietly rolling his toy truck between his legs, nervously. Butch cocked his head in confusion. Why was Liam apologizing when he hadn't done anything? He decided to reach over and touch Liam's hand, which was absent-mindedly still clutching his toy.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't need to be scared."

"I'm not," replied Liam, allowing Butch to link his fingers with his own, "I just don't like it when he gets mad. He treats everyone like they're stupid babies."

"Butch apologized, everything is fine now," Amata comforted, as she joined the two, crouching in front of Liam, similarly to how James had crouched in front of Butch.

"Aw, is baby Liam gonna cry?" laughed Susie, "Better have daddy come in and save you!" Butch noticed Wally chuckle at the comment, and he reminded himself to punch him later on, when James wasn't around.

"No I'm not!" Insisted Liam, glaring at her, defiantly. This took Butch by surprise, as Liam was rarely so outspoken. Butch felt the desperate need to protect his friend, before things got too ugly.

Apparently, Amata was having similar thoughts, as she stood up and announced, "Hey, we don't need to fight you guys! How about we play Princess Rescue?"

Butch internally groaned, before remembering his plan.

"I'm not playing that stupid game!" said Susie, going to sit down.

The rest of the children shrugged, not surprised in the least.

The game began, just as it always did, with Wally and Butch leading Liam over to his chair tower and pretending to lock him in.

"This is for your safety," Butch said in-character, "So that no one can steal you from me." Normally, the scene consisted of Butch and Wally laughing maniacally, saying things like, "Now you'll never escape, little prince! You're stuck here for all eternity!" So, it wasn't surprising when Wally and Liam both gave Butch strange looks.

"O-okay," replied Liam, not knowing what else to say. Butch patted his cheek, lovingly.

"Oh no you don't!" giggled Amata, who had found the cardboard tube underneath Liam's bed. "I'll save you!"

"No you won't, princess-knight!" shouted Wally, before casting a "spell" on Amata, supposedly capturing her in a huge ice block.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, raising her arms in a ridiculous pose, pretending to be frozen. However, a moment later it was decided that Butch accidentally melted her with his fire breath, despite his protests, and so, the game continued.

The next several minutes consisted of Wally and Amata fighting, until Wally had been "defeated". When it was Butch's turn to lose, however, he refused, shoving Amata to the floor.

The first time, she just brushed it off as rough housing. The second time that Butch violently pushed her over, however, Amata got angry.

"Butch! What are you doing?"

"I'm winning this time! You're not going to be the hero anymore!" shouted Butch.

"But you're the _dragon_!" Amata insisted.

"Well I don't want to be!" And with that, Butch tried to push Amata a third time. Amata, however, was faster, and before he could get his hands on her, she punched him, right in the nose. A loud crack was heard, along with Butch's screams.

"Butch! Amata!" exclaimed Liam, hopping down from his chair and rushing over to the two, followed by Wally.

"What's going on in here?" It was James. Liam flinched.

"Butch, what happened?" the doctor approached the child, whose nose was now gushing with blood. Butch was whimpering, clearly trying to hold back tears. Liam felt terrible. It was entirely his fault, as far as he was concerned. He really just should've told Amata how much he hated that game, instead of trying to hide it and spare her feelings. She would have listened to him. He had seen it coming. After all, Butch and Amata didn't really get along, and it was only a matter of time until blood was drawn.

"Did you do this?" James asked his son. Liam's stomach dropped at the accusation.

"It was me, Doctor Brickly," admitted Amata, "Butch pushed me, so I hit him. I'm sorry."

James sighed heavily, before helping Butch to his feet and walking him to the next room, Liam followed, concerned.

After James had cleaned Butch's face and stopped the bleeding, he gave him an ice pack to press to his face, to bring down the swelling, before going to the other room to speak with Amata.

"Are you okay?" asked Liam, climbing up on the couch beside his friend.

"Shut-up! If it weren't for you, this never would have happened!"

"I'm so sorry," Liam sniffed, feeling his eyes begin to sting with tears, "I should've just not played to begin with."

"All I wanted was to be the one to save you for once," grumped Butch, shifting the ice pack, staring directly ahead. "Maybe then you'd like me as much as you like Amata."

So Butch wasn't really mad at him? Liam became excited. Butch wanted to protect him? To be his best friend?

"Well, in a way you did save me," Liam said, scooting closer to Butch, who turned a dark shade of pink, "Maybe now we won't have to play that stupid game anymore." And with that, Liam leaned over, giving Butch a quick kiss on the cheek.

Butch felt his pulse quicken and his blush deepen. He was so happy; his plan had worked after all!

He then proceeded to swiftly punch Liam right in the face.

"Goddamnit, Butch!" James shouted, as the sound of his son crying reached his ears.

* * *

**There just seriously aren't enough Butch/M!LW fics out there! So, I've decided to put one of my own out there. Let me know what you think, as the chapters progress, please. I've never done a Fallout fic before.**


	2. Chapter 2

Once the children of vault 101 finally grew old enough to start their schooling, James no longer was required to look after them twice a week. He seemed relieved.

Liam found himself relieved, as well. It meant that none of the other children could continue to mock him within his own home. That didn't prevent them from doing so everywhere else, though.

Butch was the worst of them all. Ever since the day Amata had fractured his nose, he had become Liam's biggest bully. He didn't know why Butch had decided to hate him, all of a sudden. He had said that he wanted to become closer to Liam, and then punched him. It had hurt, leaving a dark, swelling bruise on his cheek, but the emotional damage had been far worse. Liam deeply cared for Butch DeLoria, and losing his friendship was heart-wrenchingly awful for him. Amata did her best to help him through the loss, cracking jokes at Butch's expense, calling him an ass and coming up with pranks that the two of them might play on him and his friends.

Liam appreciated Amata and her lively ways of cheering him up. As the overseer's daughter, he didn't expect her to stick around once all of the other children began to openly call him names and push him around. Liam had inherited his father's intelligence, it had seemed, and he was at the top of his class, causing the others to constantly pick on him for being a nerd or a suck-up. Amata had stayed by his side, however, refusing to allow peer pressure to drive her from her best friend.

Liam swore that Butch grew meaner with every year that went by. It destroyed him to see Butch become more and more angry at the world, spitting insults at anyone who would listen, seeming so sure of himself and his abilities, yet fighting against any potential he had to be of use to the vault. He wasn't just a jerk for the hell of it; he did it to feel superior to everyone else, as if he had something to prove. It just frustrated Liam to no end. He couldn't even make himself hate Butch, try as he might. Even through the name-calling, the outcasting, and the pummeling, Liam couldn't help but merely feel sad. From time to time, when it simply became too much, Liam would feel tears begin to make their way down his face, as Butch, Wally, and their friend Paul Hannon circled around him, like old-world sharks, laughing, punching, throwing insults. He hated what was being done to him, but he hated what his friend had become even more.

Eventually, though, Liam had to start hitting back.

It was the day of his tenth birthday. Amata and his father had gone through the trouble of throwing him a surprise party. Liam was incredibly grateful, as small and quiet as it was. He was given his Pip-Boy, as everyone in the vault did at age ten, and fell in love with the bulky wrist contraption almost immediately. Liam had found that he had a love of tinkering with things, pulling apart his toys, and even his father's lab equipment from time to time, and putting them back together, seeing how everything worked, and getting excited when he found that he could make improvements to them. Wally, on the other hand, didn't seem to appreciate the piece of tech nearly as much as Liam did.

"Nice Pip-Boy. What is that, one of the 3000A models? What a piece of junk! I think you have to wind it up every morning!" he sneered, as Liam made his way past the booth he, Butch, and Paul were sitting at. The three had spent most of the day trying to come up with names for some supposed gang that they were planning on starting. They had come up with all sorts of names; all of which Liam thought sounded ridiculous. From "The Vault Dwellers" to "The Mackers" to "Wally and The Big Cheese", Liam and Amata couldn't help but laugh, as the two eavesdropped on their conversation.

Liam wasn't at all used to receiving gifts, so when he had been given a Grognak comic book from Amata, a new baseball hat from Stanly, the mechanic, and a freshly baked sweetroll from Old Lady Palmer, he wasn't exactly sure what to do with it all. He was overcome with gratitude, and maybe just a bit embarrassed by all of the attention. Even through the shouts of "Happy Birthday, nosebleed!" and "Nice party, dork-face!" from Butch, Wally, and Paul, Liam remained mostly happy.

Everything seemed fine, until Andy, the vault's Mister Handy robot, attempted to cut the birthday cake. With saws running wildly, he managed to turn it to mush in mere seconds. That wasn't the worst part, though. The worst part came a few minutes later, when Butch had decided to approach Liam, backing him into a corner.

"I'm hungry, and that stupid robot destroyed the cake!" Butch's dark blue eyes glinted in the false light, angrily, "Gimme that sweetroll you got from Old Lady Palmer!"

Liam swallowed, thickly. He wasn't exactly keen on having his birthday present bullied away from him. Still, Butch seemed to be having a worse day than usual. Liam had overheard him talking about his mom forcing him to attend the party, and Liam knew that that had meant a lot of drunken arguing, as Ellen DeLoria was the vault's resident alcoholic.

"How about we share it? Half for me, half for you. That's fair, right?" Liam said, voice trembling, ever so slightly.

Butch scoffed, "'_How about we share it?'_ What are you, five? Give me that sweetroll or I'm going to pound you!"

Liam sighed. He was so tired of everyone pushing him around all of the time, especially Butch. He expected him to at least be somewhat civil, considering that it was his birthday. But no. That would have been asking for too much, it seemed.

Liam pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Butch, I'm only going to ask this once: Please. Please, please, _please_ leave me alone? Just for today, just for right now, even. But please, just go sit down, and get out of my face."

"Or what?" sneered Butch, taking a step closer, "You'll go cry to daddy?"

"No," replied Liam, calmly, "But I will hit you. I swear I will."

A shocked look crossed Butch's face for a moment. He obviously didn't think Liam had it in him to ever talk back. The look disappeared after that, however, and was replaced by a smirk.

"I'd like to see you try, nosebleed. You probably couldn't throw a punch if your life depended on it. And it will, if you don't give me that sweetroll."

Liam, now fueled by adrenaline and pure irritation, was feeling more confident than ever. He didn't _have_ to be nice, after all. He just liked to be. Daringly, he narrowed his sparkling blue eyes, and clenched his fists in anger. "Come and get it, then."

And just like that, the two ten-year-old boys exploded in a fury of kicks and punches, flinging insults as they went, much to the dismay of the other vault residents. Butch had attempted to shove Liam into the corner he had backed him into, but Liam, being rather wiry and quick on his feet, managed to slip past him, and tackled the slightly older boy to the diner floor.

Butch glared up at Liam, who had pinned his arms to the ground, and was grinning, triumphantly. He felt something in his stomach stir at the sight. He had way more guts than Butch had anticipated, he'd give him that. The situation was still upsetting, however, and Liam knowing that he had won didn't soften the blow at all.

"I tried to be nice!" Liam hissed, "But you just _had_ to show off! You're always trying to humiliate me, and I'm not going to let you anymore, Butch!"

"What are you two doing?" It was Officer Gomez.

Reluctantly, Liam got off of Butch, standing to face the security guard. "Sorry, Officer Gomez, that got out of hand."

"It sure did. But why on Earth were you fighting?" Gomez asked, "I'll bet it was Butch who started it."

Liam looked back at Butch, who was brushing off his vault suit. He wasn't going to deny it. He wasn't the lying type. Still, Butch had gotten what was coming to him, and Liam figured that getting scolded by Officer Gomez wouldn't exactly help the situation much. It would just rile Butch up more than he had already been.

"It was nothing. Stupid, really. Just boys being boys, I guess."

Officer Gomez quirked an eyebrow at him. "Alright. If you say so. But don't pull that kind of behavior again."

With a sigh of relief and a quick, and a questionable side-glance from Butch, Liam made his way across the room, to where Amata stood.

"What'd Butch want? I thought you were in trouble there for a second," Amata's face was full of worry, as she placed a hand on Liam's shoulder, "I can't believe he tried to start a fight at your own birthday party! What a jerk!"

"Well, I mean, I did provoke him…just a little," Liam replied, laughing nervously.

"_You_ provoked Butch into a fight?" Amata asked, disbelievingly.

"Well, yeah. He did try and steal my sweetroll, though," Liam said.

Amata wrinkled her nose in disdain, "God, he really is a butthead! Oh well. You can always count on Butch to make an ass of himself. Get it?" she laughed hysterically at her own joke.

"Yeah," chuckled Liam, "I get it."

The day would continue without any more incidents. However, the dynamic between Liam Brickly and Butch DeLoria had shifted immensely. It was just that neither of them knew it yet.


End file.
